The little-known reason multiculturalism is thriving in Canada - Michael's essay

When Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, paid an official visit to our Governor General in the summer of 2012, she had a question for him: How does Canada do it, she asked David Johnston? How has Canada been able to cobble together and nurture a society which has attracted people from all over the world, from more than 200 ethnic origins, without tearing the country apart in sectarian violence? I don't know what the GG told the GC, but I'm confident he marshalled all the old bromides about a peaceable kingdom, a just society, a compassionate people.

We are a deferential people, to the point of diffidence. We say we're sorry when we don't need to. We hold doors open for others, we give money to charity, we care about people in the wider, violent world. All of which is true to one degree or another. We can be compassionate when called upon. For example, a few weeks ago I went to a party held in a restored streetcar barn. It was a fundraiser for the Syrian refugees about to arrive. The place was jammed. There was loud music and a silent auction. The event had been organized by the neighbouring communities. That night raised $100,000 for refugee families. Compassion, empathy, generosity -- all good and mostly all present in the national character. But there is one other element rarely acknowledged or analyzed -- good old Canadian apathy. I hasten to explain.

The country I grew up in was largely white; Anglo Saxon and French. In my neighbourhood, there were small enclaves of Italians and Jews, but not many. I cannot remember a black face on our street in the guts of the big city. I didn't know who or what a Muslim was, nor had I ever met an aboriginal Canadian. Then the floodgates of immigration opened up: hundreds of thousands of Italians, Hungarians, Asians and South Asians, thousands from the Caribbean, Chinese and Koreans, tens of thousands in number. 

In little more than three decades, my hometown went from being known as Little Belfast, to the most multicultural urban expanse in the world. The integration, the inclusion of all those voices  happened with only a few bumps in the process.

Apathy can be a dreadful thing. If we don't care about contaminated water being drunk by children on reserves or the conditions inside our prisons or male on female violence or homelessness, that kind of apathy is toxic. But in the ordinary day-to-day-ness of things, we tend to mind our own business. If you, the stranger, don't bother me and mine, we won't bother you. If there are people on the bus wearing different clothes and headgear, and speaking a different language, we really don't care a hell of a lot. We just want to get on with our lives.

There of course is bigotry and discrimination and prejudice in Canada. There will always be pockets of racism in the national fabric. There will always be people who fear difference, who cast suspicious eyes on the other, who are uncomfortable with the shock of the new. Most Canadians are happy to let apathy take its course. When it comes to outright hate, most of us just can't be bothered.